Yuruginai Shinrai
by Tsurai Shi
Summary: Naruto's lost his last precious person, and now there's no reason to go on. So, Kyuubi strikes a deal with Eternity to save her otouto and send him back on the road to happiness. SasuNaruSasu. [ON HOLD]
1. Shi

I've had this idea stewing for over a year now...I thought it was time to finally get it out!

¤Chapter One¤

_Torn from life,_

_Eternally bound._

_You suffer in silence,_

_Without a sound._

Anyone to see him now would wonder why he fought. Why would he still struggle to survive if there was nothing left to live for? Even as he stabbed the nin coming at him, Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime could not answer the question.

Ever since Sasuke's defection, the war between Leaf and Sound had been steadily escalating. Even Sand, who were Leaf's allies were having a hard time defending from the attacks, especially after Stone, Grass and even Cloud joined Orochimaru's side to get revenge upon Leaf.

Two years ago Tsunade had been killed, and Naruto immediately pulled from his place in the ANBU to replace her, and thrown into the expectations of the entire village to protect them.

Finally, three days ago, things had come to head. Several Oto Kamikaze ninjas had slipped past Konoha's heavy border guard in the dead of night, and set fire to the town. With the aid of several Fuuiton jutsus, the fire was consuming the buildings at an unstoppable rate. The Rokudaime had barely managed to get a third of the villagers and a handful of nin out.

He was forced to watch as the rest of his beloved village burned to the ground. He would never forget the pleas for mercy and the terrified screams of the trapped and dieing. He couldn't.

So even in the midst of battle against over whelming odds, standing all alone, they drove him. The last survivor and the failed protector of Konoha would fight until death.

"YAAAAAAAHHH!" he charged forward and kicked the nin's throat with enough force to send the head sailing away. As the next wave of attacks descended, he went through a few quick hand seals and activated his father's famous technique, Hiraishin no jutsu. The Oto nin couldn't track his movements, and in a yellow flash of light, twelve more ninjas fell. Naruto reappeared, panting and gasping as he waited for more of the enemy to surge forward. He was surprised Orochimaru hadn't shown up yet. But then, the Akatsuki must have been keeping him busy.

'Nee-chan, I need more chakra!' he thought, powering up multiple Rasengan and blowing away a few more ninja.

'**I'm trying Kit! But if I feed it to you any faster you'll die! You're reaching your limit!'**

Naruto almost smiled as he stabbed a kunoichi through the heart after dodging her water jutsu.

'I'll die anyway nee-chan. At least then you'll be free.' he felt her pause, then exhilaration as a wave of red chakra flowed through his muscles. He leapt into action, parrying several senbon with a kunai.

"Naruto-kun. It's been awhile." the man said viciously.

"Only three days Kabuto. I see that chakra burn still hasn't healed." Naruto smirked.

The other's eyes darkened in anger as he subconsciously rubbed the area on his chest where Naruto had plowed into him with a high-powered Rasengan. Kabuto had been able to heal the external damage, but his chakra coils had been burned beyond repair.

"Orochimaru-sama sent me to take care of you." he growled.

"And I suppose he kept Sasuke by his side, leaving you to wonder if who really is his right hand man." Naruto taunted. He knew that Kabuto was hard to get riled up, but once he was, he became reckless. And in Naruto's exhausted state, that was exactly what he needed.

The older man snarled and charged up his Chakra no Mesu. (Chakra Scalpels) Then he ran forward, aiming straight for his heart. Naruto threw several kunai at him, expecting him to dodge. But he didn't. Instead they hit with an audible THUNK, and a log appeared in his place. 'Kawarimi! But when did he have time to do that?'

'**Kit! Behind you!'**

But Naruto turned too late, and warm, red blood splattered all over his back.

¤

Even as a hardened ninja of twenty-four years, Sasuke had to struggle against the tears that burned his eyes, threatening to spill.

In the last hour his beliefs, the goal he based his entire life on and strove to complete…had been shattered.

-Flashback-

Sasuke smirked in triumph, his Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly.

He'd finally done it after all these years. Orochimaru's Cursed Seal had given him a ferocious burst of speed and chakra.

Just enough to drill his Raikiri into his beloved brother's chest.

Itachi smiled at him even as blood gushed from his mouth and the wound. "Oroka na…otouto." Sasuke growled fiercely and buried his hand a little deeper in his brother's torso. "I may be foolish Itachi, but you are dead." he spat. Itachi just wore the humorless smile. His body was weakening so the only thing that kept him upright was his brother's arm.

"It's a pity…you haven't accomplished your goal."

Sasuke snarled and pulled his hand from the oozing mess of blood and gristle, holding the other up by the collar of his cloak. "Don't give me that shit! You're dieing. My ambition is complete!" He cut himself off at the look he got in return. Itachi's face now held sadness, and world weariness that would make anyone tired just looking at him.

"Iie, you don't understand…I killed our father…demo, the one who killed our clan…was the one you call…master. Orochimaru…foolish…little brother…" he breathed. Sasuke stared at him, trembling in shock. His Sharingan eyes desperately searching the dieing ones of his brother for any shred, any scrap, of a lie. There was none. Nothing but pure truth in the now ebony orbs.

"So, all these years-" he choked. But there was no time questions, none for explanations.

Itachi gave a shuddering blood filled cough, before his eyes drifted shut and he fell completely limp in Sasuke's grasp.

He let the corpse crumple to the blood drenched and sunk down beside it. He huddled with himself there, his mind reeling with the implications.

'Itachi killed father. Orochimaru killed them all, then I joined that hebi yarou. And Naruto…Oh kami, what have I done!' Bile surged up his throat. He turned and vomited onto the grass, wiping his mouth on the blood drenched sleeve of his yukata. Rage surged through his veins, distorting and clouding his vision an eerie red.

"Orochimaru, I'm going to kill you!"

Reality returned like the blow of a kunai as soon as he stood up. Multiple deep gashes covered his body, through which he was swiftly losing blood and strength. He had a fractured wrist and his chakra reserves were almost nothing now that the seal had receded. Even in his revenge clouded mind, there was no way he'd be able to beat Orochimaru in this condition. Sasuke's eyes widened.

'And with Konoha fallen, the only use he has for me now is to serve as his next body.' Even a year ago, he might have accepted those terms if it meant he would gain power enough to kill Itachi. But now, he'd be damned before that would happen.

And in his case, that seemed very likely.

He struggled out of the clearing, jumping from tree to tree but barely keeping his footing.

Sasuke had one last option now. One chance to even partially make it up to the person who could-should never forgive him…

'I'm coming Naruto.'

¤

Naruto flinched, waiting for the inevitable pain to come. There was none. But a groan sounded behind him.

He turned, and was met with the sight of a person he'd never expected to see again.

"Sasuke!" he gasped. Something in his heart clenched even as he said it.

Clouded crimson eyes met cerulean blue. "Naruto. I don't…expect your forgiveness…but…gomen nasai…" he fell forward, dead before the Rokudaime overcame his shock in time to catch him.

Behind him stood an astonished Kabuto, who's hand still glowed with the Chakra no Mesu. The power he'd put into the jutsu had been so, that it had forced Sasuke's right lung nearly from his chest.

Kabuto's eyes suddenly narrowed and he smirked. "Once the traitor, always a traitor it seems. After all this time Sasuke-san still couldn't bear to see you die. It's to bad his efforts shall have been in vain." The only answer he received was silence.

"You'll be rejoining him soon in the afterlife Naruto-kun." A hand seal later and he added even more power to the scalpel.

Meanwhile Naruto was suffering his own internal battle.

For so long, even before Sasuke had left, something had been balanced on the precipice of his mind, threatening to tumble. And he suspected it was his sanity.

Now it was gone, pushed over the edge as Sasuke's words and the sight of his eyes played again and again in his head. Rage. Desolation. Hopelessness. Love…

'**Kit, what are you doing? You're pulling out more power than your body can handle! Stop it now or you'll be killed!'** the kitsune screamed at him.

'It doesn't matter Kyuubi! He just took away the one reason I could have found for living!' _My love…_

He pulled faster, demonic chakra flooded his coils, and he could feel it demanding to be set free even as he struggled to keep it in check.

Kabuto stared at the blond man as his eyes bled red and his pupils narrowed. Pure red chakra manifested behind him in wide sweeping tails of destruction. Kyuubi, he could handle. The demon was feral when released. However he could see the human intelligence that still gleamed behind those eyes, and didn't pause to tell that this was a power far greater than he had ever felt before. Killing intent crashed down on him like a title wave, and Kabuto struggled just to breathe. With his chakra hampered as it was, he would never make it out alive.

"Kabuto…SHI-NE!"

Naruto charged him, claws aimed straight for his throat. He barely dodged, taking the hit to his shoulder.

Blood splattered everywhere, but neither noticed. Kabuto dodged another attack, jumping over the surrounding bodies in an effort to retreat. But Naruto was too fast.

A blur appeared at the edge of his vision and he suddenly found himself lifted into the air by a kick. He crashed into a tree, and the bark splintered with the force of the hit. A crack was heard, signaling his broken arm and ribs. Kabuto sat up as quickly as he could with his body exploding in pain.

Only to see Naruto running through a string of hand seals he had only ever seen from a distance. His eyes widened and panicked fear coursed through him. 'Kuso! I can't move!' he desperately threw some senbon in an attempt to interrupt the seals, but the blond just moved. He stopped on the last seal and looked at the older man with eyes that seemed to burn through him. "This death…is to good for you. Sayonara."

The last thing Kabuto saw before he died was a flash of red and yellow light.

¤

Naruto turned away from the sickening remains of Kabuto's body.

Even with the minimal Medical training he had received from Tsunade, he knew that his life chakra was almost totally exhausted. He had taken more of Kyuubi's chakra than his body could handle, and his life energy had been spent to even it out. The Hiraishin had drained everything he had, and Naruto knew he wouldn't last more than a good two minutes.

'**You…You're dying Kit.'**

'Is it that hard to believe? All mortals die Nee-chan.'

'**You shouldn't have done that! You're dying too soon!'**

"Hai Kyuubi-nee. But now…you can live." Silence rang after that. He took a staggering step, than another, wending his way between the corpses of enemies and allies alike. His sights were only set on one.

Naruto finally reached him, and gazed forlornly down at Sasuke's body. Then he bent and hoisted it up, he was already limp and cold in his arms. Weakly and with painstaking slowness, Naruto dragged him over to a charred sakura tree and collapsed against the trunk, Sasuke still in his arms.

The sky was dark with the continuing forest fire, and far in the distance Naruto could still see the trees burning.

He looked back at Sasuke. Even in death, he was perfect. Alabaster skin riddled with scars, but still smooth. Beautiful obsidian eyes that would never open again. He brushed the silky raven hair away from his face.

His heart was slowing down.

Naruto wrapped his arms around him tighter, pulling him close to press a kiss to the icy temple. "If only things could have been different, ne?"

'Sayonara, Nee-chan.'

_I love you, Sasuke…_

¤

"Are youcertain you want to do this?"

'**I am sure.'**

"It will mean the end of our existence, yours and mine."

'**There…is no point in being free now, for the price I had to pay. I know you are tired of this existence. We have both lived far too long…'**

"…There will be consequences to this."

'**He will gain my memories and powers. They will only help him in the end.'**

"And what of the dark one?"

'**He loves him with his whole being. Even after he betrayed him…'**

"…You wish to send him as well."

'**Hai.'**

"Very well. But know I only want the end. I do not care what becomes of it."

'**I understand. And…thank you, Eien-sama.'**

"Do not thank me, Kyuubi."

'_**Otouto…'**_

¤

End Chapter One

¤

This is **Yaoi**!

Yuruginai Shinrai - Unbreakable Bonds. (Emotionally, between two or more people.)

Eien - Eternity

I'm not dead! Just very flighty. And procrastinating. I can't seem to concentrate one story! No,** Invictus **is still being written. I'm just having a frustrating time with the next chapter when I can't keep my mind on the work.

This is a pet project. I'll update when I feel like it. So a month, probably more in between. I usually crank out the first few chapters pretty fast.

Please review. I'm not going to beg. (Anymore.)


	2. Yosha

-1

Yeah, uh warnings for the whole story (more will probably be added later): Powerful! Naruto and Sasuke, severe OOC, EVENTUAL Yaoi (I'm bad at romance of any kind), angstyness, unoriginality (as I've been told) , and Sakura bashing. She's the only character I truly hate. With Hinata almost there.

Now, if you're still reading, on with the story!

¤Chapter Two¤

He was floating. He couldn't feel any part of his body, yet he felt comfortably warm. Why was it so dark? Were his eyes open? What was going on? Where was he?

'I'm dead…?'

Yes.

Silence. His thoughts were slow and hazy. 'Naruto.' Maybe he was crying. He couldn't tell. Then…

_Doki………doki…_

'Hn? What's that sound?'

_Doki…doki…_

'A heartbeat…is it…mine?'

No. You're dead, remember?

Pain shot through him. _Doki, doki, doki, doki- _Pain, pain, pain.

He breathed.

¤

Sasuke sat up like a bolt of lightning, his heartbeat racing as he clutched his chest in agony. Finally, it receded and he could think coherently.

"Is this…the afterlife?" Or maybe not.

He looked around. Bare, dark colored walls surrounded him on four sides. A single window adorned one wall, and morning sunlight struggled to pierce through the heavy black drapes. He was sitting straight up in a double navy blue wide bed.

"This is my room." To say he was in shock would be an understatement. He was in his room in the Uchiha mansion.

The mansion was one of the first things razed to the ground in the war. He'd made sure of it.

And now he was here again, surrounded by the memories of his brother, and family. Now one question rang through his mind.

"What the HELL is going on?" Finally he realized that his voice was _definitely_ two or three octaves higher than normal. He reached up to touch his throat, but stopped when he saw his hand. His very small hand.

He spent a few seconds staring at it, then calmly climbed out of the bed. Then, noting his decreased height in contrast to the closeness of the ceiling, he strode out of his bedroom and to the bathroom.

After all, Uchiha's didn't 'freak out'.

At least, not until they had all the information.

He reached the mirror, almost afraid of what he would see.

There stood an eight year old version of himself, rather rumpled and cute looking with his hair in all directions from just getting out of bed.

That was when, even years later, though he would never admit it to anyone, the great Uchiha Sasuke, betrayer, avenger, and hardened ninja, calmly…fainted.

¤

It had been three days since Sasuke had awoken in his younger body (and the subsequent embarrassing reaction). The weekend was over now, and it was time to head to the Academy. Inside, Sasuke had been dreading going there. Why?

He would see Naruto. Would he be able to restrain from flinging himself on Naruto and begging for the blond's forgiveness? Would Naruto even remember anything? He had yet to see him, and Sasuke assumed that the other had not searched him out.

So if Naruto did remember, he wanted nothing to do with him. And that Sasuke could understand.

He trudged sullenly along, pointedly ignoring the whisper and rustles coming from around corners and behind bushes. He'd been mortified to remember he had fan girls even at this age. It disgusted him. They hadn't even developed _hormones_ for heaven sakes!

Ino and Sakura reacted the usual way when they saw him. They leapt at him with a shriek of "Sasuke-kun!", glomping onto his arms when he tried to shake them off. He grimaced at the sight of Sakura. He had so many bad memories of her. _She clung to him, crying again. "Sasuke-kun, I know you don't mean it! Please come back!" He felt like strangling her. _….In the midst of this he felt it. The eyes that pierced the back of his head. He looked up to be met with startling blue eyes and golden hair.

'Does he know?' His heart beat faster. The eyes narrowed.

Just as he managed to pry the two now arguing girls off him, Naruto looked away and refused to meet his gaze again.

Sasuke took a seat across the classroom. He tried to pay attention to what the instructor was saying, but he couldn't concentrate. The problem ate at his mind. He'd already decided not to go to the Hokage. Sarutobi would press for future events and about his life, and he didn't want that. With all that he had done, he'd probably be locked up in some high security cell somewhere, or even killed. There was only one person he could talk to.

Sasuke was so distracted that he barely noticed when the instructor called an hour break for lunch. He cursed himself for his inattention. He grabbed the bento he'd made himself and walked out the door with a quiet sigh. As soon as he stepped out girls bombarded him with offers to eat lunch with them. 'I don't want to be near any of you, dammit!' He turned them all down with an angry scowl. He looked wildly around for a way to escape. His heart skipped a beat. (Heart problems?) Naruto was sitting on the tree swing, with his eyes focused steadily on his hands. He seemed totally oblivious to anyone ore thing around him.

Sasuke cautiously approached, waiting for any sign of hostility, but Naruto didn't look up. He blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"Tch. Where's your lunch, dobe?" He could have slapped himself.

Naruto's head snapped up to look at him. "Don't call me that, teme!" was the automatic response. Then Naruto's eyes widened, and he slumped against one of the chains.

"You too, Sasuke?" he asked quietly.

"Hai."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. They both silently wondered 'What now?' Then Naruto spoke. "So, what are you going to do?"

"What?" Sasuke looked at him, confused.

"I asked, what are you going to do now Sasuke?" Sasuke stared into the other boy's eyes until the meaning sunk in. He smiled slightly. "Whatever you want me to, dobe." Naruto's eyes narrowed at the nickname, but Sasuke could still see them sparking with happiness at his answer. "Good! You should listen to your Hokage." he teased, and lightened up the mood considerably. He almost sighed in relief.

Sasuke snorted in annoyance and slapped him gently on the back of the head. "Itaii! What was that for, teme!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You never answered my question. Where's your lunch?" Suddenly Naruto looked embarrassed and ducked his head. "Ano…I forgot to bring it." Sasuke snorted again and opened his bento. He handed an onigiri to Naruto. Naruto looked at it in surprise before taking it.

"You've…changed Sasuke."

"So have you."

"Aa." Naruto nodded and took a bite.

¤

Naruto sat comfortably perched on top of the Hokage monument, basking in the beauty of the village below. Beside him sat Sasuke, who was in a deep silence.

When Naruto had first awoken, he didn't know how to feel. First shocked, then joyous. Then he became angry and deeply saddened when he found out exactly how this had come about.

He told Sasuke what he knew.

:Flashback:

Naruto was sure that if his eyes got any wider than they were now they would pop out of their sockets and roll across the floor. He stared down at himself in wonder.

"I…I'm alive." He looked back to the cracked dirty mirror that hung on his kitchen wall. Finally something else registered.

"I…I'M A CHIBI!"

I _guess_ you could say he took it better than Sasuke. He was back to three freaking feet tall! That was a huge change from his former six foot stature. "What the hell happened!" Did he hear an echo?

'Kyuubi!…….Kyuu?' Only a desolate silence answered him. Now he was starting to feel a biting edge of worry. 'Calm down! There's no use in panicking!' Naruto scolded himself.

He sat down right therein the middle of his kitchen floor, and slipped into meditation reinforced calm with practiced ease.

¤

In just a few minutes, Naruto opened his eyes again to a mucid, water-filled pipe. He frowned. He remembered fixing the place up years ago. Then he shook his head. Now just wasn't the time. He ran. Through the tunnels he knew by heart, splashing water onto the walls. "Kyuubi!"

At last he reached the main chamber. It was pitch black inside, and Naruto couldn't see a thing. Terrible silence. The one thing he'd hated all the years of his life. "Nee-chan?" he whispered desperately.

Then just as an all too familiar scent hit his nose, his eyes finally adjusted. Blood, and a gigantic hunched form in the back of the room. "Nee-chan!" He tore off to the figure, barely paying heed to the broken iron gates of the small piece of torn rice paper ashe passed.

He was barely to feet from the giant, and the blood scent was almost overwhelming now, so much that Naruto was ready to pass out. "Nee-chan please!" he knelt unsteadily by the kitsune's head. She wasn't breathing.

"Iie! I didn't sacrifice my life just so you could die, Kyuubi!" he clutched some of her fiery fur with his childlike hands, hoping, wishing for her just to open her eyes again. Naruto could feel the hot tears spilling down his face, but he didn't care anymore. First Sasuke, and now his adopted sister were gone. His two most precious people.

A flash of red chakra was all the warning he had before the first image hit him. He was looking out someone's eyes as though they were his own. When he saw a gigantic red tail in his peripheral vision, he knew who's memories these were. Kyuubi's.

Naruto only had time to register the mass of Kyuubi's body suddenly roiled, and his hands started to sink into the furry flesh. Then he blacked out as over a thousand years of memories exploded in his mind.

¤

'_**He will gain my memories and powers. They will only help him in the end….'**_

It faded out there.

¤

When Naruto awoke again, he understood. 'She gave me her body and her memories.' He knew it would probably take his lifetime to sort through them all, but Kyuubi had given him the greatest gift she could.

'If only it hadn't cost you your life….' He held up a small hand and watched as the nails lengthened into claws at his will, without any chakra. He reached to touch his ears, and found only very slightly pointed tips. No one would notice if they weren't looking, but it still washed away any doubts he might have had.

He was the new Kyuubi.

"It looks like what Sasuke once, and all the villagers have always called me, is finally true…"

'Youma. Akurei….Bakemono.'

¤

Sasuke had sat in silence through the whole tale, and as Naruto told it, his heart seemed to squeeze tighter and tighter. Half way through he had shifted his legs so that his head sat on his knees, with his arms wrapped around them. When Naruto finally finished, they both sat in silence. Sasuke could see him staring out at the village with a small sad smile. He couldn't hold back his questions any more.

"Doshite?" he closed his eyes and buried his face in the crook of his arms.

Naruto turned to look at him. "Nani?" he questioned. Sasuke let out a shaky breath, still not sure what to say.

"Why…are you being like this Naruto? Telling me all this. I…You should hate me for everything I did and said. To you….to everyone! I betrayed you!" he let out a have choked sob of frustration. "Why…have you forgiven me?" the last was barely a whisper of breath. After a moment of stillness, he felt a movement beside him. Sasuke flinched, half expecting a strike, but none came. Instead, Naruto just moved in front of him.

"Sasuke…Sasuke, look at me!" He finally raised his head to meet Naruto's ocean colored eyes.

"Sasuke, I never blamed you. Your perceptions had been twisted by everyone around you, first Itachi, then Orochimaru. Heck! Even the shinobi of Konoha did nothing to dissuade you from it! …But you know what?"

Naruto was looking directly into his eyes, but Sasuke felt like his soul was being stripped bare und the stare. He shook his head negatively.

"What you did for me…in the end…that made up for it." He smiled and almost absently stroked Sasuke's cheek. For some reason, he didn't push him away. Naruto's hand felt comforting. He almost sighed when he pulled it away.

"And now we both get a second chance, so everything works out!" Naruto said with a brilliant smile, standing up and dusting himself off. Sasuke couldn't help but smile back slightly at his ever shifting moods. Naruto held out a hand which he accepted and got pulled to his feet. Naruto suddenly looked up and at the sky. "Hey! The day is still young! Let's go grab some ramen!" he exclaimed taking hold of Sasuke's wrist with the intent of dragging him all the way to the stand. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at him. "'The day is still young'?"

Naruto shrugged. "Meh, I heard Gai saying it one time. I thought it was good." Sasuke shuddered as they started walking. "Dobe, _never_ quote anything from Gai again." Naruto pouted.

"I told you to stop calling me that, Sasuke-teme!"

Conveniently, neither noticed that Naruto was still holding ontoSasuke's wrist.

¤

A/N: Yes, done! I'm so inspired! (But it's short…) I _really _should be writing Invictus…..(shrug) Oh well. Inspiration comes when it comes.

The reason this is SasuNaruSasu, is because I can't decide who the dominant one in the relationship should be! I changed their personalities so much…though I do lean towards NaruSasu…

Review and tell me what you think.


	3. Shomen

_Japanese for the last chapter: _Youma-demon (though they generally call themselves youkai…I think.), Akurei-evil spirit, Bakemono-monster, Doshite-why, Nani-what, ano-uh…

¤Chapter Three¤

_The fire burns cold, and ice is hot._

_And what you thought was real is not. _

Naruto sighed as he tried to concentrate on the scroll in front of him. The last four years had been grueling on both Sasuke and him. So much had happened that was unexpected by either of them. One particular realization had made it much worse…

_:Flashback:_

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock. Familiar eyes just stared back at him in confusion. And that's just the problem. They were familiar.

They had come out to the training grounds today to test their new limits. (After all, do _you _remember how strong you were when you were eight?) It had been going well so far. They'd found that the mental part of both of their strengths were still intact. So they had nearly perfect chakra control as before. The physical aspect though….let's say they were very out of shape, and as such had little chakra _to_ control. Still, it had been going ok…until Sasuke tried to activate his Sharingan.

"I foresee a potential problem." Naruto said bluntly. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, confused. "What's wrong? Other than the strain it's putting on my chakra, it feels normal." he shrugged.

Naruto stared at him directly in the eyes, urging him to make the connection. "Sasuke, that's exactly my point."

The look of dawning comprehension and horror on Sasuke's face would've been comical if the reason weren't so problematic.

"…Shit." he muttered, his eyes fading from brilliant red back to black. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, I don't know," Naruto said sarcastically. "What do you think everyone will do when they find out you've got the Mangekyo?" Sasuke glared at him. "You're not helping Naruto."

Naruto sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know. I'm just wondering why you still have it….after all…she's still alive." he trailed off at the end, but he could still see Sasuke trying to hold back a sneer. "I remember reading in something in the Uchiha scrolls…about the Mangekyo." Sasuke stared at him in shock. "You got your hands on the Uchiha scrolls! The Sandaime wouldn't even let me see them!"

"Sasuke, I was the Hokage! I could access any scroll I wanted." Naruto said, calming Sasuke down marginally. Or trying to.

"So… what did you find out?" he asked, scowling.

"Not much." Naruto sighed again. "There has only been two other Mangekyo users besides you…and Itachi." he trailed off, remembering what Sasuke had told him about the Uchiha massacre just yesterday.

"And?" Sasuke startled him back to reality. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Uh…you already know that to obtain the Mangekyo, you have to kill someone close to you." At Sasuke's nod he continued. "Well, apparently the Mangekyo evolution isn't physical, but mental. It's all a state of mind. The scroll was pretty vague (and _really _long winded. That geezer was even more boring than paperwork!.), but it basically said that the user feels some weight of guilt for killing their friend…

That apparently triggers a genetic mechanism in your mind that causes the Mangekyo. It also changes the shape of your tomoe, so now it looks kinda like a pinwheel. Every user's shape is slightly different." He looked uneasily at Sasuke. "If there was more I don't remember it."

Sasuke stood for a moment, taking it in. "This means I'll never be able to show my Sharingan. To anyone." He spoke quietly. "…Shit."

"I think you already said that, Sasuke." Naruto said, trying to lighten the mood. Even though this new development was going to put a major block in their plans for the future, he still hated seeing Sasuke get like this.

Before Sasuke could respond, they were interrupted by a loud rumbling. Naruto clutched his belly and smiled sheepishly. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "C'mon Naruto. Let's go get some thing to eat." He turned away.

"Ramen!" Naruto shouted ecstatically. He was about to follow when Sasuke stopped, and turned back to him. Naruto's smile dropped immediately at the hardened look in his eyes.

"Naruto, whatever that scroll may have said, I want you to know…I don't regret killing her." Then he walked away.

Naruto stood for a moment, frozen.

"I know." he breathed, and followed.

_:End Flashback:_

Naruto shook his head to clear it. He set the scroll down, knowing he wouldn't be able to concentrate on learning that particular kata today. As if on cue his stomach growled in complaint. He looked at the clock on the wall. Only 11:00. Sometimes he resented his demon metabolism. Sure, he had a lot of cool powers, and even though he could go strong for days without eating, his stomach complained if he went more than two hours!

Grumbling, he got out of the comfy sofa where he was seated, and strolled over to the window. He poked his head out to get a full view of the training grounds laid out beside the house. "Sasuke!" he called.

"Stop yelling dobe, I'm right here." said a voice behind him. He jumped, and would have fallen over the ledge if the brunette hadn't caught him. "I swear, it's gotten ten times louder ever since you moved in."

Naruto scowled and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You're the one who asked me to come!"

"Only because you lived in a dump. What did you want?"

"I just wanted to know what you wanted for lunch."

Sasuke smirked. "That's it? Anything but ramen."

"Teme! I don't only make ramen!"

"But that's what you usually make."

"…"

"…" Another smirk.

"I'll make miso." Naruto turned away and strode into the kitchen, pouting slightly. Even after all this time, he was still often the loser of their verbal battles.

He didn't know where Sasuke went after that. Probably back out to train…

Sasuke had changed so much in the past years, it was almost baffling. Not just in personality, but in appearance. He still had the same hair style, but it had grown a few inches longer now. He'd also changed his clothes. He still wore the same pair of tan shorts, but now wore a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, with a sleeveless black turtleneck that clung tightly to his skin. Neither had mentioned it, but Naruto had eventually noticed Sasuke's phobia about exposing the skin on his neck and shoulders.

It wasn't exactly unfounded, and Naruto knew when to leave well enough alone.

The biggest change of all was in Sasuke's manner. Around others his eyes were as hard and cold as they had been previously, maybe even more so. But whenever they were together, just the two of them, he would let his guard down, and actually smile. Naruto could remember how startled he'd been the first time he'd heard Sasuke laugh. (And a real one too, not that homicidal psychopathic avenger one.)

He was really turning into the Sasuke he'd known was always there, beneath the surface.

"Oi, dobe! Have you even started lunch yet? Why are you just standing there?"

Of course, he still occasionally called him by that annoying nickname.

"Urusai! I was just starting!" he growled.

All he got was a smile in return.

¤

Sasuke ran around the training grounds, practicing his kenjutsu. The sword form flowed with practiced precision and grace, even though he was now a good deal smaller than when he'd first learned it.

He bit back a sigh of frustration when he stopped to correct a certain stance. He absolutely hated kenjutsu.

He'd tried to purge anything left to him from his memories of Orochimaru, but unfortunately, most of the things he had been taught were jutsus. After one long and very uncomfortable talk with Naruto, he'd decided to keep training in the sword art the snake sannin had taught him. That was only after Naruto had pointed out how useful it could be in the future. He'd even started training Naruto in it, but it was clear within a few days that Naruto just wasn't a 'sword person'.

Naruto. He had to smile when he thought of the blond.

Even though it'd been four years since they'd 'woken up', he still wanted to laugh every time he saw Naruto looking so chibi and cute. He had eventually also stopped denying that he thought of him as cute, if for the sake of what was left of his sanity.

Sasuke knew he'd changed a lot compared to the past, but Naruto had changed more. He still yelled and occasionally said stupid things, but he knew when to be silent. He'd even slip into what Sasuke privately called 'Hokage mode', where he would be come quiet and decisive, and everything else that would be required in a leader of Konoha.

Sasuke had been shocked and borderline amazed when Naruto told him he was the son of the Yondaime. But when Naruto let his hair grow out, the resemblance had been so obvious he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before.

It didn't take much persuasion to get Naruto out of the blazing orange jump suit. (Which Sasuke had promptly taken out into the yard and burned with a well placed Katon jutsu.) Now he wore plain black cargo pants, a red t-shirt with a white spiral on it, and fingerless black gloves. Sometimes he even wore a long black over-vest that reached his knees.

Sasuke had told him it made him look strange (only not as nicely) to which Naruto replied that he'd gotten used to this style of dress, and besides, it was better for concealing weapons than Sasuke's clothes were. He hadn't had any reply that.

On another matter, there was how Naruto acted. He was still dead last in the Academy. After a few talks, they'd agreed it was best for people to underestimate both of them, as well as to get on the same team. So Sasuke had to restrain himself severely, and he couldn't imagine what it must be like for Naruto.

He frowned at that thought. Naruto had reverted to his stupid dead-last act in the Academy, and around anyone else besides him. Every time he went out, it was always with that huge idiotic grin plastered on, and it never faded under the glares and whispers that followed him everywhere.

It worried him sometimes, seeing that. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that's how Naruto actually was. 'And I didn't, before.' Just how long had Naruto had to keep up such a façade?

'Probably his whole life…'

And it must pain him to know that all the things they whispered behind his back were true, now… Sasuke growled.

It had been happening more and more lately, Sasuke would get a fiercely protective feeling. It was an urge to just gather the blond up in his arms and-

"Sasuke! Lunch is ready!" Naruto's voice cut into his thought before it could go any further. He sheathed his sword with a small sigh of relief.

'I really don't know what's wrong with me anymore…'

¤

"Sasuke, I really think we should tell him!"

"Naruto, we've had this argument a thousand times."

"He would understand!"

"He won't believe you! And even if you did prove it, what do you think he'll do when he finds out I was a traitor? He'll throw me straight into prison!"

"We don't have to tell him that part. In fact, I could just not include you in it at all!"

"He'll see straight through you, Naruto."

"I was Hokage once too, you know. But we have to tell someone. We can't change things on our own, Sasuke! And as much as you don't want to admit it, we need help."

"…I don't like it."

"I know…but we really don't have much of a choice."

"Can…can we just wait until before the chunnin exams?"

"Yeah…That should be enough time."

"I know I must seem selfish."

"Don't worry about it Sasuke, I understand."

¤

Today was the gennin exams, and Naruto was nervous. Not about the exams, no, he and Sasuke could've passed them years ago, with ease. He was worried about tonight.

Mizuki would try to steal the scroll of Forbidden Seals, and Naruto planned to stop him. He had no use for the scroll this time around. He'd already read it, searching for a way to break the Shiki Fuuijin without killing either of them. Unfortunately, that plan had failed.

Naruto's eyes darted toward Sasuke across the room. The other wore his usual sullen demeanor, completely ignoring the tittering girls that surrounded him.

Sasuke had listened with a blank face when Naruto explained the importance of this day to him, and nodded in acceptance when he proposed his plan. Still, Naruto couldn't help but feel there was something he was missing, when it came to Sasuke.

His glance passed over Sakura (who'd managed to sit next to Sasuke), and he paused. Over the years he'd gotten used to running into friends he'd long thought of as dead. It no longer gave him a start every time he saw Ino, Shino, or many others pass by.

But there was still one person he couldn't get used to. Though he'd slipped on his idiotic mask easily, he still avoided Sakura like the plague.

He'd observed Sasuke doing the same, but, as with all his fan girls, his efforts where futile.

'Too many memories…'

His attention turned elsewhere as Iruka entered the room. He smiled quietly at his brown haired sensei.

Iruka started the test immediately. He called the children one by one to the front of the class. They were told to perform a basic henge, Kawarimi, and then produce three bushin. Most of his classmates passed without any trouble at all. He sighed as a few of the older ones sneered at him. Little did they know that only nine of them would actually pass when they took the _real_ gennin test!

He watched as both Kiba, Ino, and Shino passed, then Hinata, though she had blushed and stuttered when receiving her hitai-ate. 'I'm going to have to boost her self confidence!'

Shikamaru lazily went through the motions, but they still ended up perfectly. Naruto watched impassively as Sakura also passed, though he could see the beads of sweat forming on her brow when she performed the bushin jutsu.

He finally sat up and took notice when Sasuke's name was called. Sasuke strode confidently to the front of the room, apparently ignoring the quietly cheering fan girls behind him. He quickly and efficiently performed henge and kawarimi. When he placed his hands in the seal for the bushin, however, five clones popped into existence instead of three. Iruka smiled at Sasuke as he handed him his hitai-ate.

"Unless someone can do better, you'll be this year's number one rookie, Sasuke." Mizuki (who was standing next to Iruka) said. Sasuke just grunted and retook his seat. He met Naruto's eyes briefly and gave him a shallow nod.

"Next up: Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka called. Naruto stepped down to the front and Iruka gave him an encouraging smile, which he returned.

Before he was asked his hand snapped into some seals. "Henge!" he called out, turning into a perfect replication of Iruka. At Mizuki's nod he released the jutsu, turning back before replacing himself with a log provided for the purpose.

"Very good! Now all you need to do is bushin and you'll pass." Iruka praised. Naruto smiled. "That's easy now Iruka-sensei!" He performed the seals and three clones appeared in a puff of smoke. Then he grinned and the bushins disappeared. "So what do ya think Iruka-sensei? Did I pass?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes Naruto, you pass!" Iruka held out a shiny new forehead protector, which he accepted with a happy grin and a bounce in his step.

He didn't miss the slightly dark look that marred Mizuki's face as he turned away, though.

'You thought I wouldn't pass didn't you?' he thought as he sat down. 'This put a major dent in your plans! HA! This is only the beginning.'

He unknowingly shared a silent smirk with Sasuke.

From here on out things would change. It maws the turning point and they both knew it.

It was finally time to tear down the façade at least a little, and show everyone what they were made of.

¤

End Chapter Three

¤

_Japanese for this chapter:_ tomoe-comma marks (those little dots on the Sharingan), Kuso-shit, Urusai- literally translates to 'you're loud', but basically means shut up; chibi-small, Katon- Fire Element, Shiki Fuuijin- Death Seal (what the Yondaime used to seal Kyuubi inside Naruto), henge- transformation, -kawarimi- replacement, bushin- clone

A/N: Ooh, who are they going to tell? And who is the female that Sasuke and Naruto keep mentioning? You'll find out later! (When I finally decide on what the hell I'm doing….)

School has started….yay. I'm not quit sure yet what I want to do with the next chapter, so please be patient! Oh, and check out my fic, **_Yashin_**. It's short (only three parts) but I got a little off track from this story and created it. There's NaruSasu at the end (I wrote my first kiss! YAY!)!

Oh, and on that subject, I got a pretty mixed reaction on the NaruSasu vs. SasuNaru thing. I'm still not sure what to do. I need more input!

Please review!


	4. Honto Chikara

:) Megan's Mini Guide to Japanese for the Illiterate Baka: gaki-brat, Fuuma Shuriken-Windmill shuriken; i.e. one about twenty times bigger than normal size that can collapse into itself, ojii-san- old man or grandpa, gomen nasai-I'm very sorry/please forgive me, Chikusha-dammit, Shunshin-a transportation jutsu with variations using smoke, sand, leaves, water, etc.

Chapter Names (so far): Shi-Death, Yosha-Forgiveness, Shomen-Façade, and Honto Chikara- True Strength

Quite frankly, my fight scenes suck, so I try to make them as short as possible. Gomen nasai!

¤Chapter Four¤

_"People who want happy endings have to write their own."  
_Paine, Final Fantasy X-2

Mizuki snarled under his breath as he ran through the forest. The scroll of Forbidden Seals weighed heavily on his back. His senses were on high alert, checking for the ANBU he knew would soon be on his tail.

'That damn Kyuubi gaki!' he swore. His plans had been totally trashed by that cursed demon boy. It was well known that he barely scraped a pass in any of his skills and that bushin was his worst technique.

It had been Mizuki's plan to manipulate him when he failed, getting him to steal the scroll for him. Then Mizuki would have been able to follow him into the woods and kill him. Two birds with one stone, as most would say.

He stopped suddenly on a high branch. He felt a familiar chakra signature ahead, and it only took a moment to figure out who's it was. 'Speak of the devil.' he started to grin evilly. From the was the boy's chakra was fluctuating, he must have been tired from training. "Perfect." He unloaded a Fuuma Shuriken from where it hung on his back, and crept slowly through the trees.

Finally he got a visual on the boy. He lay in the middle of a grassy clearing, and all around the trees were dotted with shuriken and kunai. The blonde appeared to be asleep and he'd obviously been training. 'Heh, this is too easy.' He put the shuriken back in it's place and withdrew a simple kunai. He silently walked over to the other and poised the knife above him.

"Time for you to die, demon!"

And he plunged the kunai into the boy's jugular.

¤ (1)

Mizuki smirked in triumph. He'd finally killed the demon brat!

He almost didn't notice when the supposed body poofed into smoke. "Nani!" He could still feel the blood that coated his hands, so that couldn't have been a clone. 'Not even Kage Bushin can do that!' he whipped around wildly looking for the brat.

His eyes widened as he saw a _gigantic_ fireball rushing right for him. He desperately tried to jump out of the way, but was caught by the edge. He screamed in pain and surprise as flames licked his skin.

Suddenly something slammed into him with astounding force, knocking him to the ground. A glint of reflected sunlight was the last thing he saw before the base of his skull exploded and he blacked out.

¤

Naruto shoved the kunai back into it's pouch and dusted off his hands. "That…was ridiculously easy."

Sasuke snorted from where he was leaving the bushes. "You defeated him the first time. Of course it was easy!"

"Hey, don't make fun of my abilities!"

"Whatever."

Naruto stuck out his tongue childishly, and was mildly surprised when Sasuke returned it. He grinned, then turned his attention to the unconscious chunnin.

He lifted the enormous scroll gently off Mizuki's back (not without giving him a harsh kick of course), and set it aside while Sasuke bound him up in chakra reinforced rope.

"As much as I wanna kill the bastard, we need to take him to ojii-san. We still don't know his motives. He could be working independently, or he could be working for someone." _Like Orochimaru or Akatsuki_, went left unsaid.

¤

Sasuke didn't say anything but nodded unhappily. He desperately wanted to kill the blond chunnin here and now, but could see the other's reasoning.

He watched as Naruto opened the Forbidden Scroll all the way and pulled out a separate piece of paper. The blond stuffed it in his pocket before re-rolling the scroll with a flick of his wrist and looking up at Sasuke.

"Come on, let's get this to ojii-san. We don't want to be late for our meeting with Lee-kun!" he said excitedly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and hefted the heavy chunnin over his shoulders, as though he were a feather.

Rock Lee had somehow stumbled onto one of his and Naruto's Taijutsu spars a few months ago. He'd been delighted to find two other people with such 'brightly burning flames of youth', and asked to be another sparring partner. Naruto had, of course, agreed immediately to the offer, then managed to convince Sasuke that it would be a good idea to train with someone under the tutelage of Maito Gai.

Sasuke couldn't say he hated Lee so much as he was freaked out by him, (2) so he'd grudgingly agreed, and now they went out to Training Ground 6 at least once a week to spar with him.

Sasuke wrenched from his inner monologue to follow Naruto over the trees towards the Hokage tower.

He preferred not to think of just how thoroughly the blond had him wrapped around his finger.

¤

Sarutobi was sorely tempted to start bashing his head into his desk.

Repeatedly.

A few hours ago an alarm had sounded in the not-so-secret scroll room. Ninja of all ranks had rushed to it, only to find the intruder long gone. Sarutobi had done a quick once over and discovered, to his horror, that the scroll of Forbidden Seals was gone! He'd sent hunter-nin as quickly as possible to track down the perpetrator. If the scroll fell into the hands of an enemy ninja…he hated to think of the catastrophic consequences.

The ANBU had already started on the trail of the intruder by the time Mizuki's chakra signature was recognized by one of his co-workers, Umino Iruka. Sarutobi had almost had to forcefully detain him so that he wouldn't follow after the traitor. Things were in chaos now and the Sandaime had retreated to his office to await news and to try to relieve his pounding headache. "Chikusha…"

A snicker from the window startled him upright. A blond sat on the ledge, grinning at him. "Naruto! How did you get up here?" Then he noticed the gigantic scroll under his arm. "Is tha- How did you get that!" he asked, shocked. The blond grinned wider and handed the item over to his relieved hands.

"It was easy! Mizuki-sensei (he spat the name) ran by me and Sasuke training with this on his back. He looked really suspicious, so we knocked him out and brought him back here, just in case!"

Sarutobi stared at the young gennin with a raised eyebrow. "We? You did that with Sasuke?" He didn't think the two could speak to each other without insults, let alone work together.

At that exact moment a dark blur came through the window, proving to be a panting Sasuke. He threw his burden on the floor, uncaring for the muffled grunt it made. He glared at the shorter boy. "Next time, Naruto, you carry the nin and _I_ carry the scroll. He woke up halfway and I had to gag him!" Naruto just looked innocent and Sasuke glared harder. Sarutobi nearly cracked up at the duo's antics, but instead reverted his attention to the now conscious chunnin.

"You two did very well to have beaten a chunnin. To do so would require a lot of effort from most gennin, good job! Since you both are gennin, I will award you the pay that would be warranted by a retrieval mission." Both of them smiled at that, but then Sarutobi adopted a serious cast. "Neither of you read the scroll, did you?" Both shook their heads (perfectly honest!). "Good. That scroll contains high class information that is forbidden to use." He turned away and called a pair of ANBU. He instructed them to take him to Ibiki. Both nodded and drug him out of the room, still gagged and squirming.

Sarutobi turned to the boys with a small smile. "Now, why don't we sit down and you tell me how you beat him."

Naruto told the short tale (slightly edited of course), and soon the Hokage sent them off to do as they would. He sighed at the disaster closely averted.

Suddenly he remembered that the gennin weren't supposed to know wall-climbing yet…

¤

Naruto entered the classroom (later than Sasuke as usual, because they didn't want anyone suspecting they lived together), and headed over to a desk. Today they would be placed in gennin teams, and Naruto couldn't say if he was looking forward to it or not. He took a seat next to Shikamaru, who only nodded in acknowledgement.

Eventually Iruka entered the room, and the class quieted down, all of them exuding a tense aura. Naruto smiled down at t the chunnin. He wasn't as close to Iruka as the first time around, but it was still nice to see the other walking and breathing.

Iruka cleared his throat. "Welcome, all my former students! Congratulations on passing the Gennin Exams. Now I shall assign you to your gennin teams, and soon your instructor will come to pick you up."

From around the room, he could hear the sighs of fangirls as they all daydreamed of being on a team with Sasuke.

Iruka started listing teams, interrupted many times by the sobs of disappointed girls, until finally,

"Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto…" Sakura's face dawned in horror as Naruto clapped a hand to his forehead. 'Kuso! I forgot to ask ojii-san about changing teams! Now what am I going to do?'

"…and Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura cheered and tried to latch onto Sasuke's arm, but was shoved away roughly by the boy. Naruto smirked imperceptibly. 'At least we ended up on the same team.'

¤

Sakura twitched in anger. An hour had passed since Iruka-sensei announced the teams, and their team instructor had yet to make an appearance. She glanced over where Sasuke and the dumb blond sat. As soon as everyone had left Sasuke'd gotten up and went over to the other. Sakura was fuming at Naruto now.

'If he wasn't here then maybe Sasuke-kun would talk to me!'

Sakura didn't try to go over to them though.

She couldn't admit to herself that both of them scared her a little. Naruto never looked at anyone else with hostility, but when she met that gaze…it seemed as if he was trying to freeze her to death.

And Sasuke's eyes seemed so blank…

She stayed firmly in her seat.

¤

Kakashi whistled as he walked to the classroom where his team was waiting. He was approximately three hours late, and he loved to see the rise he could get out of the children. They almost always set up mundane traps for him. Pretending to fall for the harmless ones tended to make the brats underestimate him, after which he could teach them a lesson by beating the shit out of them. He grinned evilly.

'Ah yes. The ever popular eraser-in-the-door. It never gets old.' Kakashi reached the door and slid it open, not bothering to dodge the eraser. It fell on to his head with a PAPF, sending a cloud of white dust into the air. He gazed the three children apathetically.

"My first imp-" he barley heard the whistle of warning before he jumped away, and heard ten solid THUNKs hitting the door behind him.

Kakashi looked back at the door and saw ten kunai, all aimed right at where his crotch would have been. He felt a bead of sweat on his brow as he looked back at the kids. The girl looked bewildered, where the blond was trying to look innocent and the dark hared boy just returned his gaze with a flat stare.

"Ah…" he coughed, "Meet me on the bridge in five minutes." He quickly performed Shunshin, glad to be transported away from that heavy atmosphere.

¤

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…" she trailed off, staring at the dark haired boy on her left. "I dislike blonds!" she said, glaring at Naruto, who shrugged. "My hobbies are…My dream is…" she trailed off both times again, staring avidly at Sasuke who was having none of it. Kakashi sighed in irritation. He pointed to Sasuke.

"You next."

Sasuke straightened a little where he sat. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like…" he paused, as if considering. Sakura perked up at this. "I like training with Naruto and onigiri. I dislike traitors, fangirls, and practicing my kenjutsu." He motioned to the black-sheathed sword he'd laid at his side. "I don't feel like sharing my hobbies. My dream…is to protect the one I care for, and to find out the truth." He rested his chin on his hands and closed his eyes. Kakashi looked at him for another moment. 'He certainly turned out interesting.'

He looked at Naruto then. 'This boy already looks like Arashi-sensei.' he thought sadly. "Now you, blondy." Kakashi said out loud. The boy looked up at him with almost familiar sky blue eyes.

"My name is Uzumaki ('Kazama' Kakashi's mind supplied) Naruto. I like training with Sasuke and cup ramen! I dislike waiting three minutes for ramen to cook, and snakes. I like reading scrolls and training. My dream is to help Sasuke and to live up to my nee-chan's expectations of me!" He grinned a bright foxy grin at the three of them.

'He is…unusual.' Now that the introductions were over, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Meet me on this bridge tomorrow at 0600 hours. We'll be having another test."

"What! We just had a test!" Sakura screeched, making the males cover their ears.

"That was a test just to see if you had the _potential_ to become gennin. This is your actual gennin test."

Before anyone could protest he started walking away. "Oh, and don't eat or you'll throw up!" he threw over his shoulder cheerfully, then disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

'It's time to see how truly strong they are.'

¤

A/N: I apologize for the long wait the shortness of the chapter. Being back in school is doing a number on me, and sometimes I lose the will to write. I already put **Invictus** on hold. See profile for details.

I'm just going to wing it on the Sasu/Naru Naru/Sasu thing. It will turn out how it wants to be, and it's looking pretty much in the direction of Naru/Sasu. Thank you for all the input!

(1) Wouldn't you all just kill me if I ended it there?

Please review.


	5. Teaser

¤**Teaser**¤

'_Please, Sasuke…why?'_

Sasuke stumbled blindly into the bathroom, barely aware of his surroundings. That morbid scene played again and again in his head.

He barely reached the toilet before last night's dinner came rushing up in a wave of acid. He wouldn't look at his hands. He just wouldn't.

A hazy, distant part of his brain told him that Kakashi's genjutsu had simply over-stimulated his psyche with the images of Naruto's blood on his hands, but the rest of his mind wasn't listening. It fed him feelings of hot, slick blood coating his hands like burning oil.

'No, Naruto not dead! He's in the next room…He's not dead…not…' but he wasn't even listening to himself now. All he saw were the scarlet drops that fell from fingertips to floor at the edge of his vision. 'It'll be better if I clean it. Just wash it away…Then this will leave…' Trembling, he made his way to the porcelain sink.

Sasuke wasn't even aware of the searing tears that streamed down his cheeks, nor of the pinwheels that never endingly spun in his eyes.

All he could see was Naruto's blood on his hands, as he scrubbed, scratched, scraped, under his nails and between his fingers. He wasn't aware of his own muffled sobs as peeled away skin, still seeing Naruto's blood even under his own.

Suddenly smaller, tanned hands snatched at his own. They pulled his scoured fingers far apart and himself against a shorter muscled torso.

Azure orbs met his own in comprehension and Sasuke found couldn't stand their gaze. He buried his pale face against the other's neck, warm arms wrapped around him in reassurance. Pieces of his heart long shattered were, ever so slowly, mending again.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"

They both knew it was for more than just the vision.

¤

A/n: Ah yes, the long awaited (at least for me) breakdown. This is not a real chapter, obviously. I'm just taking a break from this story, as it is a pet, to work on some other things. Like _Noir Et Blanc_ and a bunch of random one-shots. I really felt like I owed this to you guys though. It'll probably actually take place some time in the next two or so chapters, I just wanted to write it! Thanks for sticking with me.

Please review. Or not. Whatever.


	6. Nintai, Patience

_Omake_:

Iruka grumbled in irritation and annoyance as he headed back to his classroom. After several hours of searching around his house for Class Two's exam papers, he'd been frustrated to realize he must have left them in the classroom for graduating gennin.

Iruka strode angrily through the door and rifled through his piles of papers. Finally he found the stack he was looking for and turned about to leave the room.

A pause. A twitch.

Then, "AGHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DOOR?!"

¤Chapter Five¤

_'I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad  
These dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.'  
- _Gary Jules (Mad World)

¤

It was a fairly cheerful Naruto that decided to sleep in until 6 o'clock that morning. He merely shrugged it off when Sasuke mentioned it. They both knew that Kakashi wouldn't bother to show up until nearly ten, so there would be no point in waiting around when they could be doing better things.

Sasuke was the one who set out breakfast, which they both ate leisurely in comfortable silence.

Until Naruto broke it, that is.

"What are we going to do about Sakura?" He watched as Sasuke's relaxed posture went stiff and one of his chopsticks suddenly snapped in his hand. Sasuke turned a cold gaze on him, but Naruto sat unaffected.

"We counted on asking ojii-san to change the teams around, but we both forgot. Sakura isn't part of our plans, so what are we going to do?" he asked again. But in his mind he was thinking, '_Can you handle this?_'

"I don't know," Sasuke averted his gaze to his palm, were he started picking out the splinters of lacquered wood lodged there. "I doubt the Hokage would be willing to change the teams now. We will just have to work with her." Sasuke tried his best to sound uncaring, but Naruto knew him far too well for that.

He knew the things Sasuke thought about in moments like this. They both had memories of things that ought not to be remembered, but neither could discard them or the feelings that came with them.

Which brought forth another question.

_Can **I **handle this?_

¤

Naruto twitched, pulling at his vest once again. The concealed inside of his vest was literally covered with various types of weapons: senbon, shuriken, kunai, even a fukidake. The majority of it was probably overkill, but with Kakashi you never could tell. He and Sasuke had decided that it was time to start wielding a bit more of their strength in public. The only one to know even a margin of the truth about them was Lee, and after much convincing he agreed to keep quiet until the chunnin exams.

Naruto glanced over to where Sasuke leaned against the bridge railing, stiff as a board. One of his hands was clenched white-knuckled onto his katana, where the other was occupied by Sakura hanging off his weighted arm warmer. She was chatting into his ear excessively and whenever her voice reached a particularly high pitch, Sasuke's fingers flexed on the blade. He was desperately suppressing the urge to kill her, Naruto could tell.

It had only been five minutes since they arrived at the bridge. He sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Sasuke broke from his stony expression to give Naruto a look that most clearly pled 'Save me!'

Naruto simply grinned at him and indicated for Sasuke to deal with it himself. There was no way he was going to touch the pink leech.

A long day indeed.

* * *

A/n: Everyone has been so patient with me, and I'm sorry to say that I still won't be continuing this quite yet. I really want to finish my current HP fic before I lose all inspiration for it. Anyway, I've had this sitting around forever and figured I should give you guys something, even if it's pathetically short and pointless. Please forgive me!


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